The Greatest Basketball Game Ever? College Player Sets Scoring Record, with 138 Points

Amid a streak of hitting seven consecutive shots from the 3-point line, Jack Taylor shoots a free throw during the second half of Grinnell's game on Tuesday night. Jack Adams, left, and Garrett Nitz, stand behind Taylor as they watch.

Imagine missing 56 shots in a basketball game — and coming out of it feeling pretty good.

That actually happened, on Tuesday night. Jack Taylor, a sophomore guard from Division III Grinnell College in Iowa, set a new men’s NCAA basketball scoring record — on any level — by dropping 138 points in Grinnell’s 179-104 victory over Faith Baptist Bible. The previous record, a 113 point outing by Bevo Francis of Rio Grande, was set in 1954. Furman’s Frank Selvy holds the Division 1 record; he scored 100 points against Newberry, also in 1954. (Was defense out of fashion in 1954?)

Andrew Kelley

Jack Taylor puts up a three point shot against a defender from Faith Baptist Bible College on Tuesday night in Grinnell, Iowa. Taylor, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound guard from Black River Falls, Wis., made 52 of 108 shots, including 27 out of 71 attempts from 3-point range.

Taylor shot 52 for 108 from the field, in 36 minutes; Taylor averaged three shots per minute, which seems impossible. He hit 27 of 71 three-pointers, and added seven free throws, on ten attempts.

“I felt like anything I tossed up was going in,” Taylor told the Associated Press.

Really? That seems like a weird statement, Jack, BECAUSE YOU MISSED 56 SHOTS!

Grinnell is famous for its frenetic style; rush the ball up the court and let it fly. A year ago, Grinnell’s Griffin Lentsch set a school record with 89 points. Taylor crushed that record, and every other college scoring record. He’s 5’10”, 170 pounds; Taylor was struggling coming into this game, as he hit just 11 of 41 shots in a tournament over the weekend. Doesn’t sound like anyone saw a 138-point outing coming. Though Taylor did take, and miss, a crazy number of shots, anyone who hits 27 three-pointers in a single game deserves tons of admiration. Even if it takes him 127 shots to get there (it only took Taylor 71).

“I don’t think reality has set in yet,” Taylor told AP. Want to know when a player has had a big game? When someone else scores 70 points — Faith Baptist Bible’s David Larson hit this mark — and he’s not even close to being the game’s star.